Being a guitar nut, I find myself going back & forth on this: is it Lisa Hearns's voice, full of expressive inner detail and coy vibrato? Or did the name Howard Alden first attract my attention? Well, Alden does deliver a very fine solo, but Hearns's voice finally drew me in. There are so many female jazz vocalists out there, all vying to be heard above the long shadow projected by the likes of Abbey Lincoln, Ella, and Billie Holiday, that a singer must have that kernel of distinction. Hearns provides this with phrasing that reminds my ear of Billie with the modern spin of a Katherine Whalen. OK ... and Howard Alden doesn't hurt either.